Key HR Functions Every Business Needs to Know
As a small business owner, you’re likely managing more HR tasks than you realize. From payroll to recruitment, these essential functions often fall into your daily responsibilities without much thought.
HR is more than just a necessity, it is the backbone that ensures your business runs smoothly, remains compliant, and grows effectively. From talent acquisition to running payroll, in this blog, you’ll learn about the essential roles of HR (and how offloading them allows you to focus on growth!)
What are Core HR Functions?
Human resources cover a variety of functions that impact every aspect of your business. Here are the essentials:
Payroll: Beyond paying wages, payroll ensures taxes are filed correctly, deductions are managed, and your company complies with regulations.
Compliance: This involves understanding and adhering to local, state, and federal labor laws. Staying compliant reduces the risk of costly penalties and legal issues.
Talent Acquisition: Hiring the right people at the right time is key to your business’s success. Efficient hiring processes save time and help bring in high-quality candidates.
Employee Management: Maintaining healthy relationships between you and your employees and amongst themselves is essential for your business's success.
Benefits: Health insurance, retirement, and other benefits increase the chance your employees are happy and working effectively.
For many small business owners, these tasks are time-consuming and take away from focusing on growth. However, not fulfilling these responsibilities is a surefire way to lose employees and see your business fail. HR is often overlooked but is crucial to your success.
Let’s dive deeper into these topics and discover the complexities and value of each.
What is the Role of HR in Payroll?
Payroll is often seen as a purely administrative task, but HR plays a vital role in ensuring it’s done correctly and in compliance with the law.
Beyond writing paychecks, payroll means calculating hours worked, managing deductions, filing taxes, and making sure employees are paid on time– every time.
A study by the Workforce Institute at UKG found that
“49% of employees say they will leave a company if their paycheck is wrong more than twice.”
Accurate payroll is essential to maintaining healthy workplace relationships and keeping top talent.
How do you Maintain HR Compliance?
For many businesses, HR plays a central role in monitoring local, state, and federal employment laws and ensuring your policies and practices comply with them.
HR teams review policies, update employee handbooks, and conduct audits to guarantee compliance and avoid costly fines and penalties.
Compliance is about more than just following rules, it also maintains a positive workplace culture by helping employees feel respected and valued. When everybody on your team feels comfortable and equal, your business can thrive.
What is Employee Management in HR?
At its core, employee management in HR is about creating a system that keeps your team functioning efficiently and happily. Creating a culture where everyone can feel comfortable and succeed is an overall goal of most HR responsibilities, especially in employee management.
By resolving conflicts, setting expectations, evaluating performance, and cultivating open communication channels, HR can support your team and business and boost performance.
How does Talent Acquisition Work?
Talent acquisition is the process of finding and hiring the right candidates to fill roles in your business. It goes well beyond simply filling open positions, it’s a proactive approach to sourcing and nurturing talent that aligns with your company’s culture and needs.
Recruiting top talent takes a ton of time. A forward-thinking strategy, in-depth screening, and effective interviewing skills are all essential for finding the best person for each position.
Once the right talent is hired, talent acquisition is not done. Effective onboarding and training are also roles that HR performs to secure new employees in their new positions and help them feel comfortable enough to work at their best.
How to do Benefits Administration?
Benefits administration involves day-to-day management of employee perks like health insurance, retirement, PTO, and more. It requires negotiating with providers and finding benefits that align with both company goals and employee expectations.
HR teams regularly review benefits packages to help your business remain competitive while meeting your employees’ needs. They minimize errors in benefits systems and train employees on the best ways to use their benefits.
Empower your Business with HR
HR may not always be at the forefront of your mind, but it is central to your business’s success. By investing time in your HR processes, you can lay a strong foundation for growth and employee satisfaction, however, that time is a precious resource.
Fractional HR services provide the perfect solution for businesses looking to stay competitive without the cost and commitment of a full-time HR department. With support for any HR function you need, fractional HR empowers your business while freeing up your valuable time.
